tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
The Voice of the Body: Why AI Should Listen to It and an Archive
Authors: Kun Qian, Bin Hu, Yoshiharu Yamamoto, Björn W. Schuller
Journal: Cyborg and Bionic Systems (2023)

The sound generated by body carries important information about our health status physically and psychologically. In the past decades, we have witnessed a plethora of successes achieved in the field of body sound analysis. Nevertheless, the fundamentals of this young field are still not well established. In particular, publicly accessible databases are rarely developed, which dramatically restrains a sustainable research. To this end, we are launching and continuously calling for participation from the global scientific community to contribute to the Voice of the Body (VoB) archive. We aim to build an open access platform to collect the well-established body sound databases in a well standardized way. Moreover, we hope to organize a series of challenges to promote the development of audio-driven methods for healthcare via the proposed VoB. We believe that VoB can help break the walls between different subjects toward an era of Medicine 4.0 enriched by audio intelligence.
Reply to M. Shibusawa et al
Authors: Qifa Liu
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2023)

2 and provided helpful comments about whether mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and proportion of CD20 on leukemic cells at the baseline were well balanced between the two groups in the current study. 2 However, the information on MFI of CD20 was not routinely provided in our reports, and the characteristics of MFI and proportion of CD20 on leukemic cells were not taken into account when the patients were enrolled in this study.
Click and bioorthogonal hyaluronic acid hydrogels as an ultra-tunable platform for the investigation of cell-material interactions
Authors: Nathan Lagneau, Pierre Tournier, Boris Halgand, François Loll, Yves Maugars, Jérôme Guicheux, Catherine Le Visage, Vianney Delplace
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

The cellular microenvironment plays a major role in the biological functions of cells. Thus, biomaterials, especially hydrogels, which can be design to mimic the cellular microenvironment, are being increasingly used for cell encapsulation, delivery, and 3D culture, with the hope of controlling cell functions. Yet, much remains to be understood about the effects of cell-material interactions, and advanced synthetic strategies need to be developed to independently control the mechanical and biochemical properties of hydrogels. To address this challenge, we designed a new hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel platform using a click and bioorthogonal strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction. This approach facilitates the synthesis of hydrogels that are easy to synthesize and sterilize, have minimal swelling, are stable long term, and are cytocompatible. It provides bioorthogonal HA gels over an uncommonly large range of stiffness (0.5-45 kPa), all forming within 1-15 min. More importantly, our approach offers a versatile one-pot procedure to independently tune the hydrogel composition (e.g., polymer and adhesive peptides). Using this platform, we investigate the independent effects of polymer type, stiffness, and adhesion on the secretory properties of human adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) and demonstrate that HA can enhance the secretion of immunomodulatory factors by hASCs.
Fabrication, bacteriostasis and osteointegration properties researches of the additively-manufactured porous tantalum scaffolds loading vancomycin
Authors: Hu Qian, Ting Lei, Long Hua, Yu Zhang, Dongyu Wang, Jiangyu Nan, Wenbin Liu, Yan Sun, Yihe Hu, Pengfei Lei
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

Infected bone defects (IBDs) remains a challenging problem for orthopedists. Clinically, routine management for IBDs has two stages: debridement and systematic antibiotics administration to control infection, and secondary grafting to repair bone defects. Whereas the efficacy is not satisfactory, because the overuse of antibiotics may lead to systemic toxicity, and the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, as well as the secondary surgery would cause additional trauma and economic burden to the patients. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a novel scaffold for one-stage repair of IBDs. In this study, vancomycin (Van) was encapsulated into poly(lactic co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres through the double emulsion method, which were then loaded into the additively-manufactured porous tantalum (AM-Ta) through gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel to produce the composite Ta/GelMA hydrogel (Gel)/PLGA/vancomycin(Van) scaffolds for repairing IBDs. Physiochemical characterization of the newly-developed scaffold indicated that the releasing duration of Van was over 2 weeks. Biological experiments indicated good biocompatibility of the composite scaffold, as well as bacteriostasis and osteointegration properties, which showed great potential for clinical application. The construction of this novel scaffold would provide new sight into the development of orthopaedic implants, shedding a novel light on the treatment of IBDs.
Distinct single-cell immune ecosystems distinguish true and de novo HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma recurrences
Authors: Shuling Chen, Cheng Huang, Guanrui Liao, Huichuan Sun, Yubin Xie, Changyi Liao, Jianping Wang, Minghui He, Huanjing Hu, Zihao Dai, Xiaoxue Ren, Xuezhen Zeng, Zhilong Lin, Guo-Pei Zhang, Wenxuan Xie, Shunli Shen, Shaoqiang Li, Sui Peng, Dong-Ming Kuang, Qiang Zhao, Dan G Duda, Ming Kuang
Journal: Gut (2023)

Objective Revealing the single-cell immune ecosystems in true versus de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrences could help the optimal development of immunotherapies. Design We performed 5’and VDJ single-cell RNA-sequencing on 34 samples from 20 recurrent HCC patients. Bulk RNA-sequencing, flow cytometry, multiplexed immunofluorescence, and in vitro functional analyses were performed on samples from two validation cohorts. Results Analyses of mutational profiles and evolutionary trajectories in paired primary and recurrent HCC samples using whole-exome sequencing identified de novo versus true recurrences, some of which occurred before clinical diagnosis. The tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) of truly recurrent HCCs was characterised by an increased abundance in KLRB1 + CD8 + T cells with memory phenotype and low cytotoxicity. In contrast, we found an enrichment in cytotoxic and exhausted CD8 + T cells in the TIME of de novo recurrent HCCs. Transcriptomic and interaction analyses showed elevated GDF15 expression on HCC cells in proximity to dendritic cells, which may have dampened antigen presentation and inhibited antitumour immunity in truly recurrent lesions. In contrast, myeloid cells’ cross talk with T cells-mediated T cell exhaustion and immunosuppression in the TIME of de novo recurrent HCCs. Consistent with these findings, a phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 immunotherapy showed more responses in de novo recurrent HCC patients. Conclusion True and de novo HCC recurrences occur early, have distinct TIME and may require different immunotherapy strategies. Our study provides a source for genomic diagnosis and immune profiling for guiding immunotherapy based on the type of HCC recurrence and the specific TIME.
Longitudinal follow-up of postacute COVID-19 syndrome: DL<sub>CO</sub>, quality-of-life and MRI pulmonary gas-exchange abnormalities
Authors: Alexander M Matheson, Marrissa J McIntosh, Harkiran K Kooner, Mohamed Abdelrazek, Mitchell S Albert, Inderdeep Dhaliwal, J Michael Nicholson, Alexei Ouriadov, Sarah Svenningsen, Grace Parraga
Journal: Thorax (2023)

129Xe MRI red blood cell to alveolar tissue plasma ratio (RBC:TP) abnormalities have been observed in ever-hospitalised and never-hospitalised people with postacute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS). But, it is not known if such abnormalities resolve when symptoms and quality-of-life scores improve. We evaluated 21 participants with PACS, 7±4 months (baseline) and 14±4 months (follow-up) postinfection. Significantly improved diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO, Δ=14%pred ;95%CI 7 to 21, p<0.001), postexertional dyspnoea (Δ=-0.7; 95%CI=-0.2 to -1.2, p=0.019), St George's Respiratory Questionnaire-score (SGRQ Δ=-6; 95% CI=-1 to -11, p=0.044) but not RBC:TP (Δ=0.03; 95% CI=0.01 to 0.05, p=0.051) were observed at 14 months. DLCO correlated with RBC:TP (r=0.60, 95% CI=0.22 to 0.82, p=0.004) at 7 months. While DLCO and SGRQ measurements improved, these values did not normalise 14 months post-infection. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04584671.
Association between genetically proxied PCSK9 inhibition and prostate cancer risk: A Mendelian randomisation study
Authors: Si Fang, James Yarmolinsky, Dipender Gill, Caroline J. Bull, Claire M. Perks, George Davey Smith, Tom R. Gaunt, Tom G. Richardson
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2023)

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is the second most prevalent malignancy in men worldwide. Observational studies have linked the use of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) lowering therapies with reduced risk of PrCa, which may potentially be attributable to confounding factors. In this study, we performed a drug target Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis to evaluate the association of genetically proxied inhibition of LDL-c-lowering drug targets on risk of PrCa.
Effectiveness of a peer educator-coordinated preference-based differentiated service delivery model on viral suppression among young people living with HIV in Lesotho: The PEBRA cluster-randomized trial
Authors: Mathebe Kopo, Thabo Ishmael Lejone, Nadine Tschumi, Tracy Renée Glass, Mpho Kao, Jennifer Anne Brown, Olivia Seiler, Josephine Muhairwe, Ntoli Moletsane, Niklaus Daniel Labhardt, Alain Amstutz
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2023)

Southern and Eastern Africa is home to more than 2.1 million young people aged 15 to 24 years living with HIV. As compared with other age groups, this population group has poorer outcomes along the HIV care cascade. Young people living with HIV and the research team co-created the PEBRA (Peer Educator-Based Refill of ART) care model. In PEBRA, a peer educator (PE) delivered services as per regularly assessed patient preferences for medication pick-up, short message service (SMS) notifications, and psychosocial support. The cluster-randomized trial compared PEBRA model versus standard clinic care (no PE and ART refill done by nurses) in 3 districts in Lesotho.Individuals taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) aged 15 to 24 years at 20 clinics (clusters) were eligible. In the 10 clinics randomized to the intervention arm, participants were offered the PEBRA model, coordinated by a trained PE and supported by an eHealth application (PEBRApp). In the 10 control clusters, participants received standard nurse-coordinated care without any service coordination by a PE. The primary endpoint was 12-month viral suppression below 20 copies/mL. Analyses were intention-to-treat and adjusted for sex. From November 6, 2019 to February 4, 2020, we enrolled 307 individuals (150 intervention, 157 control; 218 [71%] female, median age 19 years [interquartile range, IQR, 17 to 22]). At 12 months, 99 of 150 (66%) participants in the intervention versus 95 of 157 (61%) participants in the control arm had viral suppression (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.79 to 2.03]; p = 0.327); 4 of 150 (2.7%) versus 1 of 157 (0.6%) had died (adjusted OR 4.12; 95% CI [0.45 to 37.62]; p = 0.210); and 12 of 150 (8%) versus 23 of 157 (14.7%) had transferred out (adjusted OR 0.53; 95% CI [0.25 to 1.13]; p = 0.099). There were no significant differences between arms in other secondary outcomes. Twenty participants (11 in intervention and 9 in control) were lost to follow-up over the entire study period. The main limitation was that the data collectors in the control clusters were also young peers; however, they used a restricted version of the PEBRApp to collect data and thus were not able to provide the PEBRA model. The trial was prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03969030).Preference-based peer-coordinated care for young people living with HIV, compared to nurse-based care only, did not lead to conclusive evidence for an effect on viral suppression.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03969030, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03969030.
Ultrasound Diagnostics of Diseases of the Parotid Salivary Glands in the Practical Work of a Polyclinic Doctor: Pilot Results
Authors: N. V. Nikolaeva, V. S. Barashkina, M. V. Sokolova, L. A. Nizovtsova
Journal: Radiology - Practice (2022)

Between January 2019 and May 2022 parotid salivary glands were examined in 130 patients who were directed for ultrasonographic evaluation to the Radiology Department of State Budget-Funded Healthcare Institution of the City of Moscow «City Polyclinic № 191 of Moscow Healthcare Department» or were self-motivated to screening in medical project «Zdorovaya Moskva». Of the 130 patients, 71 were directed to ultrasonographic evaluation with provisional diagnosis «Tumor of parotid salivary gland». The ultrasonographic features were compared with diagnostic patterns of parotid salivary glands in medical literature.
Radiodiagnostics in Shoulder Joint Arthroplasty (Literature Review)
Authors: E. A. Egorova, P. O. Koshelev
Journal: Radiology - Practice (2022)

Shoulder joint replacement is becoming an increasingly common procedure for severe injuries and diseases of the proximal humerus, which in turn requires a thorough and purposeful preoperative examination of patients, respectively, expansion and improvement of the diagnostic program used by them, one of the most important elements of which are radiation diagnostic methods, in particular standard radiography and multisection computed tomography. Analyzing the given literature data, it can be noted that the use of multisection computed tomography allows to ensure the most accurate position of the components of the endoprosthesis at the preoperative stage, allows the use of digital planning programs for a specific patient and significantly increases the reliability of the results of long-term follow-up of patients at the postoperative stage in the detection of signs of aseptic instability. However, despite the fact that multisection computed tomography is widely used in patients at the preoperative stage, a number of parameters for the placement of endoprosthesis components, in particular the glenoid component of the endoprosthesis, still do not have a single standard for planning, in addition, it requires refinement of the algorithm for the use of multisection computer tomography at the postoperative stage, due to artifacts that reduce the quality of images and preventing a reliable analysis of the fixation of the components of the endoprosthesis.
Assembly of Clay Nanotubes on Cotton Fibers Mediated by Biopolymer for Robust and High‐Performance Hemostatic Dressing (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 1/2023)
Authors: Yue Feng, Yunqing He, Xiaoying Lin, Mingyang Xie, Mingxian Liu, Yuri Lvov
Journal: Advanced Healthcare Materials (2023)
Preclinical to clinical utility of ROCK inhibitors in cancer
Authors: Jaume Barcelo, Remi Samain, Victoria Sanz-Moreno
Journal: Trends in cancer (2023)

ROCK belongs to the AGC family of Ser/Thr protein kinases that are involved in many cellular processes. ROCK-driven actomyosin contractility regulates cytoskeletal dynamics underpinning cell migration, proliferation, and survival in many cancer types. ROCK1/2 play key protumorigenic roles in several subtypes and stages of cancer development. Therefore, successfully targeting ROCK and its downstream effectors presents an interesting avenue for cancer treatment. Because local use of ROCK inhibitors will reduce the side effects of systemic administration, we propose different therapeutic strategies and latest-generation ROCK inhibitors for use in the clinic.
Takayasu Arteritis
Authors: George Joseph, Ruchika Goel, Viji S. Thomson, Elizabeth Joseph, Debashish Danda
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2023)

Takayasu arteritis is a rare idiopathic large-vessel vasculitis that typically affects young women. An early "prepulseless" stage is often missed, associated with nonspecific constitutional symptoms (fever, malaise, and weight loss) and elevated inflammatory markers. Unchecked disease progression leads to the "pulseless" stage, manifest clinically by missing pulses, vascular tenderness, and ischemic symptoms (limb claudication, dizziness, angina, and renovascular hypertension), and is characterized pathologically by arterial wall thickening and stenotic/occlusive lesions or aneurysm formation. Vascular complications (stroke, blindness, heart failure, and aneurysm rupture) could follow unless disease progression is halted by immunosuppressive therapy and critical lesions are palliated by timely endovascular therapy or open surgery. Early diagnosis, effective therapy, and lifelong surveillance for disease activity relapses and vascular disease progression are critical to successful long-term outcomes. The outlook for patients has improved significantly in recent years with the establishment of diagnostic and classification criteria, better investigational modalities, and more effective medical and invasive therapy.
A widespread family of phage-inducible chromosomal islands only steals bacteriophage tails to spread in nature
Authors: Nasser Alqurainy, Laura Miguel-Romero, Jorge Moura de Sousa, John Chen, Eduardo P.C. Rocha, Alfred Fillol-Salom, José R. Penadés
Journal: Cell Host & Microbe (2023)

Phage satellites are genetic elements that couple their life cycle to that of helper phages they parasitize, interfering with phage packaging through the production of small capsids, where only satellites are packaged. So far, in all analyzed systems, the satellite-sized capsids are composed of phage proteins. Here, we report that a family of phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs), a type of satellites, encodes all the proteins required for both the production of small-sized capsids and the exclusive packaging of the PICIs into these capsids. Therefore, this new family, named capsid-forming PICIs (cf-PICIs), only requires phage tails to generate PICI particles. Remarkably, the representative cf-PICIs are produced with no cost from their helper phages, suggesting that the relationship between these elements is not parasitic. Finally, our phylogenomic studies indicate that cf-PICIs are present both in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and have evolved at least three times independently to spread in nature.
New perspectives on randomized controlled trials with omega-3 fatty acid supplements and cognition: A scoping review
Authors: B. Andriambelo, M. Stiffel, K. Roke, M. Plourde
Journal: Ageing Research Reviews (2023)

Long chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are known to be important components in a healthy diet and contribute to healthy functioning of the heart and the brain, among other organs. Although there are epidemiological studies on the strong relationship between fish or n-3 FA consumption and lower risk of cognitive decline, results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are less consistent. Here, we performed a scoping review on RCTs with n-3 FA supplementation where cognition was evaluated. Seventy-eight RCTs published before April 2022 were included in this review. Among these RCTs, 43.6% reported a positive cognitive outcome after the consumption of n-3 FA compared to the placebo. However, there was a large diversity of populations studied (age ranges and health status), wide range of doses of EPA + DHA supplemented (79 mg/day – 5200 mg/day) and a multitude of tests evaluating cognition, mainly diagnostic tests, that were used to assess cognitive scores and overall cognitive status. RCTs were thereafter categorized into non-cognitively impaired middle-aged adults (n = 24), non-cognitively impaired older adults (n = 24), adults with subjective memory complaints (n = 14), adults with mild cognitive impairments (MCI, n = 9) and people with diagnosed dementia or other cognitive changes (n = 7). Among these categories, 66.7% of RCTs conducted with MCI adults reported a positive cognitive outcome when supplemented with n-3 FA vs. the placebo. Therefore, this scoping review provides rationale and questions to a) strengthen the design of future RCTs with n-3 FA for cognitive outcomes, and b) generate more informative data to support clinicians in their practice in assessing cognition before and after a nutritional intervention.
Pt(IV) prodrug initiated microparticles from microfluidics for tumor chemo-, photothermal and photodynamic combination therapy
Authors: Qingfei Zhang, Xiaocheng Wang, Gaizhen Kuang, Yuanjin Zhao
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2022)

Multimodal treatment modalities hold great potential for cancer therapy, thus current efforts are focusing on the development of more effective and practical synergistic therapeutic platforms. Herein, we present a novel trans, trans,trans-[Pt(N3)2(OH)2(py)2] (Pt(IV)) prodrug-initiated hydrogel microparticles (MICG-Pt) with indocyanine green (ICG) encapsulation by microfluidics for efficiently synergistic chemo-, photothermal (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). The employed Pt(IV) could not only serves as an initiator to generate azidyl radical (N3•) for photo-polymerization of methacrylate gelatin (GelMA) matrix, but also be reduced to high cytotoxic platinum(II) (Pt(II)) species for tumor chemotherapy. The laden ICG with highly photothermal heating ability and intrinsic reactive oxygen species (ROS) productivity endows the MICG-Pt with effective PTT/PDT performances upon near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. In addition, benefiting from the production of oxygen during the photo-activation process of Pt(IV), the PDT efficacy of ICG-laden MICG-Pt could be further enhanced. Based on these advantages, we have demonstrated that the MICG-Pt could significantly eliminate cancer cells in vitro, and remarkably suppressed the tumor growth in vivo via synergistic chemotherapy, PTT, and PDT. These results indicate that such Pt(IV)-initiated hydrogel microparticles are ideal candidates of multimodal treatment platforms, holding great prospects for cancer therapy.
A ratiometric near-infrared fluorescence/photoacoustic dual-modal probe with strong donor dithienopyrrole for in vivo nitric oxide detection
Authors: Panpan Xiao, Mengke Liang, Shuo Yang, Ying Sun, Jia Li, Zhewei Gu, Ling'e Zhang, Quli Fan, Xiqun Jiang, Wei Wu
Journal: Biomaterials (2023)
Functionalized liposomes for targeted breast cancer drug delivery
Authors: Janske Nel, Kamil Elkhoury, Émilie Velot, Arnaud Bianchi, Samir Acherar, Grégory Francius, Ali Tamayol, Stéphanie Grandemange, Elmira Arab-Tehrany
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

Despite the exceptional progress in breast cancer pathogenesis, prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment strategies, it remains a prominent cause of female mortality worldwide. Additionally, although chemotherapies are effective, they are associated with critical limitations, most notably their lack of specificity resulting in systemic toxicity and the eventual development of multi-drug resistance (MDR) cancer cells. Liposomes have proven to be an invaluable drug delivery system but of the multitudes of liposomal systems developed every year only a few have been approved for clinical use, none of which employ active targeting. In this review, we summarize the most recent strategies in development for actively targeted liposomal drug delivery systems for surface, transmembrane and internal cell receptors, enzymes, direct cell targeting and dual-targeting of breast cancer and breast cancer-associated cells, e.g., cancer stem cells, cells associated with the tumor microenvironment, etc.